so until somebody makes a device template, it will have to be configured by hand in mythtv, and the A/V control won't be possible with these tuner cards.

I know it seems like i'm being an asshole, but I am writing this out of sheer frustration that nobody seems to want to help adding support for the newer cards. nobody wants to be bothered with it.. nope.. let the developers who have everything else on their plate do it.

Thom, I feel your frustration. But setting up tuners in mythtv isn't too bad really. Still, what kind of steps are involved with making templates? Could I, with no programing knowledge, write a template? If so, I'd be willing to make some.

Well, remember that it is only the free, over the air tv that is switching to digital. If you pay comcast for regular tv, you will not need a digital converter box. They will still send the normal cable signal through your cable wire. So, standard definition capture cards will still work after 2009. The way they are marketing this, they make you think that all tv is going digital. This is a shameless marketing ploy. so, if you have a cable subscription, you can still use haupauge cards. You can buy them at newegg.com. They only sell hybrid cards now, but they still work with NTSC (Analog).

Sorta. The requirement is for over the air TV to be digital only after Feb 17, 2009, but cable companies can switch as much or as little as they want and at any time they want to digital. The only requirement is if they have ANY analog programming they must include analog for all local stations. If they go 100% digital, then no analog will be available.

Cable companies are switching to digital at their own pace. I spoke to a tech rep for my provider and was told they are switching to 100% digital in Feb, same time as the OTA cutover. My guess is this allows them to make the switch and direct unhappy customers to the FCC. Either way, I have quit using my TV capture card for recording because some analog channels have already gone digital and I don't want to try to keep track of changes. It sucks but for semi-reliable tv recording I'm stuck with s-video capture. After Feb I'll scan what digital channels are available and hopefully be able to make use of a HDHomerun if the channels I record the bulk of shows on are both digital and unencrypted.

Oddly enough, I have comcast and they are the ones that told me it will be all digital after Feb. Later I figured out one of my wife's shows was no longer being recorded 'cause the channel was no longer available. I tried both my TV card and a older analog only TV without luck, but my newer digital TV was able to tune that channel in.

I see Comcast is offering a $10/month for 1 year basic cable package for people that have old TVs and don't want cable boxes (aka analog cable). It could be that I have the digital/HD package and it's that offering that is going all digital, or the tech support guy could be wrong and they are just shifting some channels around. In any case, cable companies can do whatever they want making PC based PVRs more of a hassle.

I just installed the hauppage 150 and it only seems to pick up the same channels that rabbit ears can pick up (2,6,8,12 network news etc.). Should I assume this means my cable provider has gone digital already or is there a setting somewhere that switches this card from antenna to cable like on a TV?

No, you need to change your channel frequency table. In the mythtv setup (Advanced, Computing, mythtv), go into the general settings and goto the second page. Change the "Channel frequency table" to us-cable.